The present invention relates to an apparatus for preparing a yarn end of a textile yarn package having means for automatically positioning a suction slot relative to a yarn package and, more particularly, an apparatus having an automatic positioning means which automatically positions a suction slot at a predetermined spacing from the tapered top portion of a yarn package.
The pace of improvements in developing more efficient textile winding machines has produced a corresponding need to improve the efficiency of textile spinning machines which build the yarn packages supplied to the winding machines for winding thereat. In this regard, improvements in textile spinning machines which reduce the need for human operator intervention--in other words, improvements which contribute to the automatic operation of the machine--are especially helpful improvements in increasing the efficiency and cost effectiveness of an integrated textile spinning and winding operation.
One area of an integrated textile spinning and winding operation which has received attention, as reflected by the issuance of several patents, is the yarn end preparation area which relates to the preparation of the yarn ends of textile yarn packages after such packages have been built at a textile spinning machine in preparation for the unwinding of these yarn packages at a textile winding machine. Since the efficiency of the subsequent unwinding operation can be improved by finding and positioning a yarn end of a textile yarn package at a preferred disposition on the yarn package prior to the delivery of the yarn package to a winding station of a textile winding machine for unwinding thereat, numerous devices have been proposed for finding and positioning the yarn ends of textile yarn packages. Moreover, several devices have been proposed for finding and preparing the yarn ends of those yarn packages which have already been subjected to at least an initial yarn end preparation step during which an attempt to locate and/or position a yarn end was unsuccessful. For example, DE-PS 30 45 825 proposes a device operable to continuously circulate textile yarn packages in a closed loop to repetitively bring the yarn packages to several yarn end preparation devices adjacent the closed loop. However, this device does not fully optimize the yarn end preparation step since textile yarn packages may frequently travel several times around the closed loop without successful preparation of a yarn end thereof and these textile yarn packages correspondingly decrease the efficiency of the yarn end preparation process.
DE-PS 32 35 442 also proposes a yarn end preparation device having a circuit through which textile yarn packages are circulated past several yarn end preparation assemblies. The proposed device includes a counter means which counts the number of circuits which a particular textile yarn package has completed and controls a separation assembly which separates those yarn packages which have circulated more than a predetermined number of times around the circuit, such yarn packages being deemed to be unworkable in that no yarn end thereof has been successfully prepared. However, this proposed device still leaves opportunities for optimizing the number of successfully prepared yarn packages per unit time. Accordingly, the need exists for an apparatus for preparing a yarn end of a textile yarn package which is operable to efficiently prepare the yarn ends of those yarn packages which typically are not initially successfully handled by the known prior art yarn end preparation devices.